Jim Mizell Scholarship Program

Santa Margarita Water District hosted its first ever video contest for the Jim Mizell Memorial Water and Environmental Scholarship, designed for college-bound students who live in the SMWD service area. The Scholarship Program provides two successful graduating high school applicants with a $2,500 scholarship to their community or four-year college of choice.

Applicants were asked to create a 30-60 second video based on the 2017 theme “A Taste for Reusing Water,” and focus on at least one of the subthemes: 1) public opinion/acceptance of drinking recycled water in South Orange County; 2) the importance of using water more than once; 3) the safety of drinking recycled water.

Congratulations, Rita Konopasky of Tesoro High School! Rita will attend the University of Southern California this fall. When asked what she learned while making her video (MP4), Rita stated: “recycling water can help reduce and prevent pollution to oceans and rivers, and save energy by not requiring water to be transported long distances.”

SMWD would also like to recognize the Braunstein brothers, 9 and 11-year-olds, for their video submission (MOV). While not eligible for the scholarship, these boys still wanted to show-off their water-wise knowledge and acting skills. We appreciate their water-wise expertise and look forward to seeing their video submission when they graduate high school in several years.

Santa Margarita Water District’s Jim Mizell Memorial Water and Environmental Scholarship Program is designed for college-bound students who live in SMWD’s service district.Jim Mizell served as a director on the SMWD Board of Directors for 12 years before suffering a fatal heart attack while jogging in 2005. He was a Certified Public Accountant with extensive experience in real estate and related financial fields, first elected to the Board in 1993 when the District was starting the arduous process of debt refinancing and overall financial restructuring during tough economic times. He is remembered as “truly … the right person at the right time.”